Grimoire of Fables
by mastergamer14
Summary: Forget everything you know about fairy tales and get a load of this. See your favorite fairy tale characters in a whole new light. Follow the adventures of Jack as he goes from regular lumberjack to legendary hero. Part of my Dissidia story line.


**Hello, Mastergamer here. I've been watching a lot of anime and re-reading some fairy tales. A thought came to me; create a story putting classic fairy tales in the same style as anime/manga. This story is going to be in the Dissidia universe like the other stories, except Wrath and D.B.O.N.F.D. You're going to see familiar fairy tale characters in a new light. It will start out light and comedic in the first, two-chapter arc, but things will turn serious afterwards. So sit back and enjoy the first chapter of Grimoire of Fables.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the general fairy tale stories used here, but I do own these incarnations of those stories.**

* * *

_Chapter 1: The Red and The Wolf_

_The land was set ablaze with fire and destruction. Countless villages were being ravaged and leveled by evil knights and vile monsters. In the middle of the burning continent, the grand architect for this end of the world sat calmly in his castle's throne room; basking in victory as the world around him fell to its knees before him. He was brought out of his thoughts when the door to the room was forcefully opened._

_The architect turned his eyes to the figure that now stood in the doorway; this figure was the great hero he had heard about, a man traveling from village to village, earning his title of hero and undoing all that he has planned. The hero walked until he was only a few feet from the man he has come to put an end to._

_"I have come for your head and to stop all this madness and death." spoke the hero._

_"Really? All I see before me is a child wearing armor and thinks himself a man." the architect countered._

_True, the hero was young; it appeared he had lived for only nineteen winters. But this youth was full of experience and skill. He stood in full silver armor and wielded a great sword that has seen much battle. The raven-haired hero glared at his enemy with his green eyes full of conviction, conviction to see this evil man slain._

_The hero did not wait for his foe to speak again as he charged with his sword held high. His foe met the blade with a hand covered in magic. The battle that followed would be part of an epic tale that will be told for centuries to come. It was when the moon reached the top of the black sky did the battle come to a close._

_The hero stood tall over the now bleeding architect lying on the floor. Raising his sword above his head, the hero looked down at his fallen foe._

_"And now, I put an end to you and free this land from your evil." and with that, the hero brought down his blade with all his strength towards the man's neck and—_

"O'CONNELL!"

Jack was brought out of his dream by a loud voice. Surprised by his sudden wake-up call, Jack fell off the branch he was using as a resting place and plummeted to the ground. Now the tree he was in was very tall and he so happened to have stopped on the highest branch, so that plus gravity plus extremely thick and hard branches equals…

_Thud!_

_Thud!_

_Slam!_

_Crash!_

_Thud!_

_Crash!_

His decent was stopped momentarily by a branch that happened to find its way between his legs. Yelling in a high pitch that broke all the glass within ten miles, Jack slumped over in pain, forgetting that he was still high up in a tree and thus fell from the branch he was on and continued his descent.

_Thud!_

_Crash!_

_Slam!_

_Thud!_

_Splat!_

Jack was now face-down, painfully I might add, on the ground. His body was in two worlds of pain, which increased when a large branch broke off from the tree and landed hard on his back. With the total amount of pain and humiliation experienced for the day (scratch that, a bird just flew over and dropped a stinky one on Jack's head) Jack uttered one, weak sound…

"Ow"

Jack's boss just sighed at the sorry excuse of a human being that lay semi-conscious in front of him. Picking up the kid so that he was, somewhat, standing up, the older man spoke.

"Thank god for that hard head of yours, O'Connell, because you would've been dead ten times over without it."

"T-thanks, I guess?" replied a still-out-of-it Jack.

"Now, for the reason I'm here; we just got an order, you need to go and get six logs of greenwood in one month for the client." explained the boss.

"WHAT?!" this sure brought Jack back to his senses, "Greenwood trees are in the northern side of the forest, about one week from here and they're huge, strong, and heavy, cutting down six logs and bringing them back is going to take more than one month and I'm supposed to do it by myself?!"

"That's the deadline we were given and everyone else is already working on cutting down strongwood trees for the new church. You're the best I've got, so I'm counting on you." explained his boss.

Jack just let out a sigh of defeat and begrudgingly accepted the job. That was the life of Jack O'Connell, a simple lumberjack that lived in a small village and worked for a small business that made money by cutting down trees and exporting the wood to other villages. Jack left to his small house, picked up a month's worth of supplies and readied his equipment, including his trusty axe. With everything he needed, Jack started the one week hike north. His last thought before leaving the village was one that filled him with ironic humor.

_'And my sister said I wouldn't like how my life turned out, I hate it when Jill's right.'_

* * *

_One Week Later_

We now find Jack, exhausted and crawling out of a horse-drawn carriage and onto his stomach, finally reaching a grove filled with tall, wide, and sturdy Greenwood trees at sunset. Regaining his bearings, Jack started to set up his camp and preparations for his demanding task.

An hour later, Jack was standing before a tall Greenwood. Jack wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, so he was going to cut down this behemoth of a tree right now. With the size and strength of the tree, it would take about two and a half days to cut down, and that's with taking breaks. Swinging his axe, Jack made the first cut into the tree.

_Two Days Later, Noon_

After starting out with his axe, then finishing with a two-man saw that he was able to use himself, Jack now set up a pulley system to help bring down the tree. Using all his strength, the lumberjack pulled on the rope tied around the tree. This is one of the reasons why he was the best, he had the strength of about three large, muscle-bound lumberjacks, so knocking over a large tree wouldn't be that hard for him.

After five minutes of pulling, the tree finally started to fall over. One down, five to go.

"Timber!"

_Slam!_

"AAAAHHHH!"

Jack was surprised to hear what sounded like a person yelling. Thinking the worst, Jack picked up his axe and ran towards where he heard the voice, which came from where the top of the tree landed. Given the height of the tree, it took Jack almost three minutes to reach the tree top.

When he got there, he found the source of the yell. Half-buried under branches and leaves was a parson, male from the looks of it. Acting quickly, Jack pulled the guy out of the branches. After pulling him out, Jack looked the guy over; from the looks of it, the man was just under the edges of the tree's branches when it fell, so the injuries the man got was a few scratches from the branches. The man seemed to be in his mid-thirties with short grey hair and a five o'clock shadow. The man wore a gray, tattered rain coat and black pants. The man wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes, leaving his torso and feet bear except for bandages wrapped around his abs and feet. His hands were also wrapped in bandages except for his fingers, which showed his long fingernails. Looking closely at him, Jack saw the man's canines poking out his lips. The man was out cold if the comical expression on his face was any indication; even though he wasn't that hurt, almost having a tree fall on you would leave anyone talking with their dearly departed grandmas.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay?" Jack asked the unconscious man while poking him in the head with the handle of his axe. He stopped when he saw the man twitch before opening his eyes. Remembering what was about to happen to him, the man yelled in terror before curling up into a ball.

A few seconds passed and he wasn't crushed by a tree. Looking around, the man saw the tree that was about to crush him lying a few feet away from him and a kid that laughed awkwardly at the man's display of terror.

"W-what happened?" asked the man, a bit of fear still in his voice.

"You were almost crushed under a tree, but you were just caught under the edge of its branches, so you weren't hurt that badly. When I heard your scream I came as soon as I could." explained Jack, choosing not to mention that he was responsible for almost making a human pancake.

"Oh, well, thanks for helping me. My name's Wulf by the way." the now named Wulf introduced.

"I'm Jack. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing all the way out here? The nearest village is a week away from here and I don't remember ever seeing you around the village." Jack inquired.

"That's because I come from a town to the east of here. It's about a two weeks journey from here, but coming out here is worth it," explained Wulf, suddenly getting a sly and prideful smirk appeared on his face, "Because I'm going to meet up with my girlfriend soon."

"Wow, she must be really something for you to travel out this far." Jack commented; Wulf seemed like the kind of guy who didn't do things for other people that often, a real loner and stone-cold tough guy.

Wulf's eyes suddenly started to sparkle and a goofy smile appeared on his face, he then spoke in a high-tone, "Oh, you don't know the half of it! She is the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful, and most wonderful person on the face of the planet. Her beauty knows no bounds that angels themselves pray to her for her beauty alone," proclaimed Wulf, who suddenly raised his forearm to his eyes, twin waterfalls of tears cascading from his eyes as he continued a voice happiness, sadness, and shame, "She is so perfect, what's a girl like her doing with a slob like me?! Oh, I'm not worthy of her!" and the waterworks and sobs increased as he continued to list all of his girl's pros and all of his faults.

And thus, the image of a tough as nails Wulf shattered. Jack looked awkwardly as Wulf started to laugh like a crazy person and talk about how he and his girl will raise a family and how everyone will make their beautiful children their new gods.

_'This guy's such a wienie.'_ thought Jack. He then jumped when Wulf suddenly stomped his feet and gained a rock-hard face of determination on his face.

"What am I doing standing around here?! My sweet love is probably worried sick about me, waiting for me to reunite with her. I can't let that goddess-like face even start to make an expression that doesn't have her smile!" Wulf loudly proclaimed and then turned to Jack. Wulf grabbed Jack's hand and shook it, a little bit too hard seeing as Jack was now mimicking a trash bag during a tornado, "It was nice meeting you Jackie-boy and thank you for giving me another chance to see my dearly beloved, but now I must be at her side like the faithful hound must be at his master's side! So long my friend!" and with that, Wulf sped deep into the woods, leaving a trail of dust and maniacal laughter behind him.

"I'M COMING, BABY!"

Jack just tried to keep the contents of his stomach inside him as he slowly got out of the daze Wulf's handshake put him in. After regaining his equilibrium, Jack just shook his head at the meeting he just had with the nut-job named Wulf.

"They say you meet interesting people every day, and that guy sure takes the cake on that one." With nothing more to think about, Jack made his way back to camp to have a quick nap before working again.

Jack was in for a surprise when he made it back to camp, for when he returned he saw a stranger in a red hooded cloak sitting near the fire and, worst of all to Jack, eating the stew he made and was planning to eat when he was down with the first tree. Jack stared dumbfounded as some stranger was eating his food. There are very few constants that stay the same no matter what world you're in, and this stranger was breaking a biggie: **NEVER EAT THE MAIN CHARACTER'S FOOD!**

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Jack yelled, startling the stranger so much that they sent their bowl of stew high in the air. The stew then reached its peak height and, after shaking hands with gravity, fell towards an unfortunate Jack. I might add that the stew was cooking on the fire for a while and the stranger just poured themselves their second bowl, so…

"**HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"** screamed Jack as the burning hot liquid and meat chunks that made up the stew burned his flesh. The lumberjack dropped to the ground and started rolling in the dirt.

"STOP, DROP, ROLL! STOP, DROP, ROLL! STOP, DROP, ROLL!" chanted the raven-haired youth as the dirt was cooling down his flaming skin.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" spoke the stranger as they stopped next to Jack, whose body was now numb and covered in dirt. Said lumberjack just turned to the stranger with fire in his emerald eyes.

"Sorry?! Just what kind of person enters a stranger's camp and eats their… their… their—" Jack's rant was cut off as he had a clear look at the stranger.

Kneeling next to him was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl he's ever seen in his entire life; she looked to be a year younger than him and had long, bright red hair in a braided pony-tail that was draped over her shoulder. She wore a tight-fitting poet shirt with a black corset over it. She also wore a black thigh-high lace boots and a black skirt that stopped inches above the boots, showing off her impressive legs. All the curves of her body were in the right places. She also had a short height; no doubt the top of her head would only reach the center of Jack's chest. Her blue eyes were filled with worry and directed at the now blushing Jack. And when the girl spoke, it was music to his ears.

"Are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Jack muttered gibberish before regaining the use of his mouth, "I-it's no problem, I was just surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I was traveling for a while now and I got so hungry that I couldn't resist when I smelled your food." the girl apologized, "I thought I'd grab a quick bite and left before you came back, again I'm sorry."

"T-that's alright, I should know what it's like to be clouded with hunger," Jack quickly said so that the girl wouldn't get upset, "My name's Jack O'Connell, it's nice to meet you miss…?"

"My name's Lil'Red," the girl happily introduced herself.

"Lil'Red?"

"My real name is Scarlet Turner, but with my name, height, and choice of clothes people call me Lil'Red, so I just go along with it." Red finished with a perky smile.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Red," Jack said as he shook hands with Red, "So, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"I'm actually out here to visit my grandma; she lives not far from here and I thought I'd pop in and stay for the week, no doubt she's very lonely out here." the small red girl explained.

"Your grandma lives out here? Kind of a strange place to settle down." wondered Jack.

"Grandma has been a very private person for as long as I remember, so she likes to keep to herself, kind of sad really." she finished with a frown.

"Well, I'm sure she'll be happy to see her granddaughter coming to see her," Jack proclaimed before a thoughtful look appeared on his face, "Although, it won't sit well with me letting you go on your own, how about I escort you to your grandma's?"

"Oh, no! I couldn't ask you to do that, it'll be too much of an inconvenience for you. Besides, it looks like you're pretty busy here." Red finished by gesturing to Jack's camp and the lumberjack equipment laid about.

"It's alright; I'll be out here for a while anyway, so it won't be a bother seeing to your grandma's house. Like I said, I won't feel good letting you walk in this forest by yourself."

"Okay, if you think it won't be much trouble for you," said Red softly before seeing Jack getting and start walking towards his carriage, "Wait, you want to go now?"

"Sure, it's still a few hours before sunset, so let's get going."

"Okay." Red said before following Jack onto his carriage.

* * *

_Two Hours Later…_

"(giggle) So you really broke your head?" laughed Red as she listened to Jack's story.

"Ha, yeah. Who puts a well at the top of a hill; one bad step and I'm seeing stars in a thorn bush. To make things even more crazy, my sister Jill takes the same bad step and ends up crushing me; I was stuck in bed with a ringing in my head for a week and to this day I still can't remember third grade. Suffice to say, I'm now get my water from a river or the market." Jack finished recounting the tale from his childhood to a now amused Red. Seeing the girl smile like that made Jack's heart flutter; never in all his life has he seen a more beautiful girl than the one walking next to him.

Red was glad to have met Jack; he was a fun guy to be around. The redhead started to think about bringing Jack some food while he was working during her stay with her grandma. Just as the thought appeared in her head, a familiar little cottage appeared at the end of the clearing.

"There it is!"

With vigor in her step, Red jumped off the carriage and headed straight for her grandma's house, leaving an amused Jack stop his carriage and follow her. The two stopped at the cottage door and Red knocked.

"Grandma! It's me, Red! Are you home?!" she called out.

No one answered, leaving the redhead momentarily confused before reaching for the door knob. With one turn, the door opened.

"That's weird, why would grandma leave the door unlocked?" Red wondered.

Jack got a bad feeling from this; a small house in the middle of the woods with its front door unlocked didn't seem like a good sign. He was drawn from his thoughts as Red entered the door and called for her grandma again.

"Grandma, your door was unlocked, so we came in! Are you home?!" Red called as she and Jack entered the living room. No one was in there and the room looked clean as a whistle. Jack looked around for anything that was out of place when he saw Red head down the hallway. Following her lead, the two then entered what seemed to be a bedroom; it seemed like a regular bedroom complete with a window, desk, wooden armoire, and a single four-poster bed. The thing about this room was that there was someone in the bed. One look at the occupant and Jack was completely dumbfounded.

Sitting up in the bed, under the sheets, was the first person Jack ran into in the forest: Wulf. Wulf was currently wearing a pale pink nightgown, which was obviously too small for his large frame. In addition to that he wore a white wig on his head. And, for some reason that Jack couldn't think of, Wulf wore one of those glasses that had a big fake nose and mustache attached to it. Said man seemed to be ignoring them as he stared around the room. Whatever Wulf was doing, it appeared to Jack that Wulf was impersonating Red's grandmother, but why would he—

It then started to make sense to Jack; the girl Wulf talked about before was Red, she certainly fit Wulf's, over dramatic, descriptions. But why would Wulf disguise himself as Red's grandma. Looking over at said girl, Jack wondered what she would do now after seeing, as Wulf puts it, her boyfriend pretending to be her grandma. No doubt she wouldn't take it well—

"Grandma! It's so good to see you!"

Jack face-faulted as Red had a happy smile on her face as she moved over to the poorly disguised Wulf. Jack couldn't help but think about what was wrong with this picture.

_'Either these two are into very weird stuff, her grandma actually looks like that, or Red isn't very bright.'_ the lumberjack thought as he looked on as Red started speaking to Wulf.

"Grandma, why did you leave your door unlocked, that's very dangerous you know."

"O-oh, well, I must've forgotten to lock it when I came to bed, how silly of me." Wulf replied in a high and scratchy voice, though that still left his voice pretty deep. How Red couldn't see through this was beyond Jack. Red then started to look Wulf over; a look of deep thought appeared on her face, maybe she was seeing that all was not right.

"Grandma, what big hands you have." she said as she held Wulf's hands. Said man chuckled nervously and replied.

"W-why, all the better to—"

"They're so rough and calloused, it's like rubbing a road of gravel, don't you moisturize?" continued Red. You could practically see a sign that said "Rough Hands" pierce a spot on Wulf's chest that was marked "Pride" as said man cried silently at the, unintended, insult from his beloved.

"And what big eyes you have, Grandma." Red observed.

"W-why, all the better to—"

"I don't mean to be rude, but you look a bit cross-eyed." Red naively stated. Yet another sign pierced Wulf's pride, this time saying "Cross-eyed", more tears of anguish fell down Wulf's face as he put up a strained smile.

"And what big teeth you have."

"W-why, all the better to—"

"You should really get someone to look at them, they're filthy and your breath could use some freshening." spoke Red she put one hand to her nose and waved the smell off with the other one. Twin signs labeled "Poor Dental Hygiene" and "Bad Breath" stabbed at Wulf's pride as the man was taking on an emotional beating from a naïve Red.

"And no offence, but you can really use a bath, I smelled something when I entered the house." Red once more pointed out innocently. Wulf hunched over as a big sign labeled "B.O." pierced what was left of his pride through his back. Jack could practically see Wulf's prideless soul leaving his crying body.

Jack didn't know whether to expose or comfort Wulf as Red kept bombarding him with pride smashing comments. Deciding that enough was enough, Jack walked over to Red.

"Uh, Red, I think it's time for us to go."

"Huh? But I came here to spend time with Grandma, why would I leave?" Red questioned.

"Trust me, I think your 'grandma' isn't in the mood for visitors" Jack's tone was final as he grabbed onto Red's arm. This action had an unexpected result.

The moment he saw Jack's hand grab Red's arm, Wulf's mind went into overdrive…

_'W-why is he grabbing Red like that!'_ that thought looped in Wulf's head before it sunk in and he came to the only logical explanation.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHH HHHHHHH!"

Jack and Red were drawn to the loud roar and witnessed Wulf suddenly tower over them. With a simple flex of his muscles, the nightgown Wulf was wearing was torn to shreds, revealing his usual clothes underneath, and the wig he was wearing fell of his head. There was only one thing that was in the man's eyes: unbridled rage. Jack suddenly felt like the gravity around him just increased three-fold; his mind was going over what was happening.

_'W-where is this feeling come from? Is it coming from Wulf? Did he figure out that his disguise didn't work on me?'_ he thoughts were cut off as Wulf yelled with all his might and rage…

"I WON'T LET YOU COZY UP TO MY BELOVED RED!"

…

…

…

_'EHHHHHHH!'_

Jack wasn't expecting that response; looking down at his hand, he saw that he was still grabbing Red's hand, that plus how Wulf acted from his first encounter with him led to one thing…

'Ah great! I'm dealing with a jealous boyfriend that overreacts to little things, what have I gotten myself into?!' this was Jack's last thought before Wulf lunged at him. Within a split second, Jack grabbed Red and leapt out of the way of the berserk Wulf. Hitting the floor, jack looked down at Red, only to see that she fainted. With quick speed, Jack picked up Red and placed her on the bed and then turned to face Wulf as he was getting up to his feet.

"So, after hearing me talk about dear Red you thought that you'd steal her away from me; well, I got news for you, NO ONE IS MORE FIT TO BE RED'S BELOVED BUT ME!" Wulf all but howled his declaration to a stunned Jack.

"W-what?! You got it all wrong, I just met her after helping you and offered to take her here!" Jack tried to explained.

"Save your excuses! I'm not gonna let a fiend like you steal Red! Because you helped me in the forest I'll go easy on you: I'll only break every bone in your body!" it looked like Wulf wasn't going to listen to reason; steeling himself, Jack reached around his back and unsheathed his axe that he brought for protection, like now.

"Look Wulf, I don't want to fight you, but if you don't back down then I'll have to hurt you." Jack hoped that seeing someone with an awe would pacify Wulf, but it only resulted in said man to chuckle.

"Hehehe, you think an overgrown carving blade is going to hurt me, that thing doesn't scare me." Wulf teased Jack.

"And why's that, last I checked there wasn't a cure for axe to the head."

"Heh, why don't I show you?"

Jack watched in confusion as Wulf just stood up straight. The confusion turned to shock as Jack saw that Wulf's skin started to convulse, as if something was moving underneath. He was in for quite the sight when he saw what happened next.

Wulf's body started to change drastically; his muscles bulged and enlarged, he grew from 7'2 to a full 9 feet, dark-gray fur started growing all over his body, his hands and feet became claw like, and his face started to elongate into a snout. A few moments later, what was once Wulf was now a towering wolfman in Wulf's clothes. Jack was stunned to see that standing before him was a werewolf, a very angry werewolf at that. Wulf raised his arms over his head as he let out an inhuman roar.

"I AM THE GREAT HUNTER OF THE FOREST! I AM THE ONE THEY CALL THE BIG, BAD WOLF! I AM DAZ WULF, AND I WON'T LET YOU STEAL RED AWAY FROM ME!" and with that, Wulf lunged at the still stunned Jack.

_Crash!_

Wulf's strength was so great that he and Jack ended up going straight through the wall of the cottage and ended up outside. Jack was had his back to the ground as he struggled to keep his axe, which he was able to raise up at the last moment, between Wulf's claws and his chest. It was because of the strength he gained from his profession that Jack was able to hold the wolfman back, though barely. Wulf struggled to plant his claws in Jack's chest, but it would seem that the raven-haired man was stronger than he appeared. Jumping away from Jack, Wulf landed a few feet away only to charge at Jack with his left claw ready to impale him.

**_"Gray Hunter"_**

Jack was barely able to roll out of the way of the attack as it hit the ground. Wulf's strength caused the entire ground around them to collapse into itself and create a large crater. Jack was able to move out of the way before he fell into the crater and turned only to see Wulf jump out of the crater and high into the air. Wulf then descended towards Jack with his left claw out, the claw flat with four clawed fingers aimed at Jack.

**_"Gray Arrow"_**

Like before, Jack leapt out of the way as Wulf's attack hit the ground. Unlike before, this attack seems to have focused Wulf's strength as his arm was now elbow deep in the ground. Effortlessly pulling out his arm, Wulf quickly leapt towards Jack and stared to swing his claws at the lumberjack. Jack was barely able to keep up with the wolfman as he blocked each of the swings with his axe, which was straining under Wulf's strength. As Jack was blocking Wulf's claws, his back hit a tree suddenly; this caused the raven-haired youth to panic for a moment, a moment which Wulf took advantage of.

**_"Gray Fang"_**

Wulf brought back his claws only to shoot his head forward at Jack's neck. Jack quickly leaned to the right as Wulf's teeth clamped down hard on the tree behind Jack.

_Crack_

The strength in Wulf's jaw was great as the area he bit down on completely burst into splinters as the rest of the tree fell over and hit the ground with a thunderous thump. Switching roles, Jack rushed at Wulf and swung his axe at the wolf's back, using the flat side of the axe. The axe met with Wulf's arm; without even trying, Wulf pushed the axe away and caused Jack's arms to go over his head, leaving him wide open.

_Slash_

Jack was in pain and shock as four deep claw marks marred his chest, before Wulf delivered a solid punch to the bleeding chest. Jack was sent flying into the forest until a tree, painfully, stopped his flight. Crashing to the ground, Jack barely got on his knees before he heard Wulf's voice.

"Why don't you give up already, Jackie-boy; you'll only die if you keep going, so just stay down." Wulf warned as he scowled at Jack.

Said lumberjack was barely holding on to consciousness with the amount of pain he was in; the skin on his chest were practically ribbons now and he was sure that he had a few broken ribs. Yet, despite this, Jack was able to, with a bit of difficulty, get back on his feet. Wulf growled as he saw the younger man stand on shaking legs, about to fall down at any moment. A moment later, Jack spoke.

"W-why?" he whispered weakly.

"Huh?" Wulf grunted.

"W-why would s-someone like Red (grunt) even a-associate with someone like you." Jack painfully spoke as he glared at Wulf.

"What did you just say!" Wulf angrily spoke through his teeth.

"I've only known her for a few hours, but I can tell what kind a person she is; she's kind, caring, and a bit naïve, so I'm a bit doubtful that she'd have any type of connection to you." By this time, Jack was smirking at the growing fury on Wulf's face.

"You don't know what you're talking about! I'm the only person Red needs in this world, the only one that can keep her safe!" Wulf could barely contain his rage at what the young man was saying, a few more words would send him over the edge.

"Heh, the way I see it, the only danger she needs to worry about is you" Jack stated, the smirk still on his face.

That did it…

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Wulf exploded in rage at hearing those words. Faster than light, the wolfman lunged at Jack, fangs bared to rip the lumberjack's throat out. Jack performed one movement before the wolf was upon him, but it wasn't to move out of the way.

_Crunch_

Wulf stared in shock as Jack raised his axe-wielding arm to take the attack. Jack felt excruciating pain as Wulf bit down on his arm; one hard bite and Jack could lose that arm. Yet despite this, Jack didn't waver one bit.

"One thing you need to know about me is that I'd never submit to someone like you!" Jack yelled as he threw a punch, with his good arm, at Wulf's face.

_Crunch_

"AAAAHHHH!"

Wulf fell back in pain as he clutched his bleeding snout, all the while wondering how Jack could've had the strength for that punch. Baring with the pain, Wulf stood up and glared at Jack. Said raven-head had his head bowed down and his arm still outstretched; Wulf stared angrily at the guy when something flickered in his vision.

_'What the hell?'_

It was only for a moment, but Wulf could've sworn that he saw a blue aura surround Jack for just a moment before fading. That sight confused Wulf for a moment.

_'What the hell was that? I must've been punched a bit hard, I'm seeing things.'_ thought Wulf before he stood up.

"That's it, kid. You've pissed me off long enough!"

Jack lifted his head and glared at Wulf, waiting for his next shot.

**_"Gray Hunter:"_**

Wulf readied both his claws for this final attack, hoping it would finish Jack off.

_**"Wolf on…"**_

Slamming his claws together, Wulf started spin rapidly. A second later, he resembled a small, fast-moving twister, his claws shining at the front of the twister. Jack merely readied his axe and gripped tight with his damaged arm, not even feeling intimidated.

**_"CLAW"_**

Like a drill, Wulf shot at Jack with every intention to rip him to shreds, Jack swung his axe with all his strength. Wulf's claws made contact with Jack's side, shredding his flesh. Barely registering the pain, Jack swung his axe at Wulf, the flat of the blade making contact.

_SLAM_

Jack slammed Wulf onto the tree that he was standing by hard, the tree splintering from the impact. Wulf yelled in pain as he was forced against the tree. Jack, putting every ounce of strength he had into his ongoing swing, made one final push.

_SMASH_

_SMASH_

_SMASH_

_SMASH_

Wulf was sent flying through the trees at great speeds before crashing into a cluster of them. The dust that was thrown up from the impact settled to reveal many trees to be completely knocked over and Wulf, back in his human form, face down on the ground, three large trees fallen on him at the end of the trail of destruction. It looked like he was down for the count.

Jack looked at the downed wolfman before looking down at his axe; it was completely destroyed, broken in half with the blade a few feet in front of Wulf. Jack stared to walk forward to retrieve the other half of his axe. He fell down to his knees when he reached the axe blade. Picking up the blade, Jack was about to kneel over when…

"Oh my god!"

Turning around, Jack saw Red running over to him, worry covering her face. Getting on her knees before him, Red picked up his damaged arm to take a look at it.

"Jack, you're hurt! Are you okay?!" Red asked frantically.

"Heh, I'm fine Red, though I can't say the same for him." Jack said, pointing to the unconscious Wulf. Red followed he's gaze and saw Wulf, a sad look fell on her face.

"I understand why you fought; she was out of control, you had to pacify her; there was no other way." she said with sorrowful acceptance.

"I know, wish it could've ended differently—"

Wait a moment

_She_ was out of control…

Had to pacify _her…_

"Just what could've happened to her to make grandma like this?" Red asked sadly.

…

…

…

"EHHHHH!"

_'What the hell?! She still thinks he's her grandma?!'_ Jack thought, dumbfounded. Looking over at Wulf, Jack saw one little detail.

_'No way.'_ was Jack's thought as he saw, despite everything that had just happened, the fake nose and mustache still placed firmly on Wulf's face. His eye twitched as he walked over to Wulf. Bending down, Jack removed the cheap disguise from Wulf's face and…

"Oh my god! Is that Wulf?!" yelled Red in surprise.

Jack face-faulted into the ground in shock and a bit of annoyance.

Seriously?!

"REALLY?! YOUR GRANDMOTHER HAS A THICK MUSTACHE AND LOOKS LIKE WULF?!" Jack yelled.

"What? Of course not, why would you think that? She looks like any other grandma." Red answered, as if she just heard Jack say cake comes from the moon.

Now that she thought about it, she could go for some cake right about now.

Jack stared at Red with an unbelievable look and a slacked jaw. One second later, a gasket blew in his head and smoke started to escape his ears.

_'Oh man, tar is brighter than this girl'_

"So… Is Wulf your boyfriend?" Jack asked when brain started working again.

"WHAT! What gave you that idea?!" Red asked in a shocked tone.

"But, the way Wulf talked, it sounded like—"

"Oh, Wulf just acts like that around this time of year." Red explained a bit sheepishly.

"Time of the year? What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Wulf is a werewolf, right? That makes him half-animal."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with—" _Half-__**Animal**_ "Oh!"

"Because I'm usually the only girl he's around, I become the center of his world at this time of year; he's really not that bad, though he is a bit overprotective already, more so during these times. Don't worry though, he'll be back to normal in a week or two." Red explained.

Before Jack could respond, Wulf started to moan and wake up. Despite his injuries, Wulf was able to get out from under the trees that he was buried under. Looking over to where he heard voices when he was waking up, he saw the person that put him in the position he was just in. Jack didn't even have time to widen his eyes in shock as Wulf was right before him, claw raised up to slice him to ribbons when…

"Wulf, stop!"

Said werewolf now looked in disbelief as Red now stood before him, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

"R-Red! What are you doing, move out of the way." Wulf asked, not wanting Red to get caught up in the fight.

"Wulf, how many times do I have to tell you: you have to control yourself this time of the year, I don't want you hurting every guy that happens to be in the same town as me," Red scolded Wulf in an stern tone, "Now, apologize to Jack, now!"

"B-but, he's trying to take you away from me," Wulf's demeanor changed to that of a whiny little kid being scolded by an adult, "You know that I'm the only one for you, sweet Red!"

Red just groaned at this, "First of all, you're not in the right state of mind. Second, I know you; you're not my type, I can't go out with someone like you, especially after what you did to those cute little piggies!" Red cried a bit at that last part.

"That wasn't my fault! I had a cold and I was asking around for some medicine, I didn't know my sneezes could blow down houses, and who the hell leaves pigs alone in their house?!" Wulf comically tried to defend himself.

Jack could only look at the argument with disbelief, and a twitchy eye. A moment later, he remembered what went on before he fought Wulf.

"Hey, Wulf, why were you dressed as Red's grandma?" Jack asked.

"Well… I figured I could get into Red's good graces by befriending her grandma," Wulf explained sheepishly, "When I got here the house was empty, and not long after I heard the door open so I did the first thing that came to mind."

"Wait, the house was empty? Where was grandma?" Red asked, concern and worry in her voice.

"Like I said, no one was home so—" Wulf suddenly stopped and started to sniff the air. He then got on his hands and knees and started to sniff the ground like a bloodhound. He started to head towards the cottage and entered through the hole in the wall. Jack and Red were confused at this and followed the werewolf into the cottage. They entered to see Wulf sniffing around the living room before he spoke up.

"I didn't notice it before because of the commotion we caused, but now I can smell it clearly," Wulf stood up before turning towards Red, "I smell a scent that resembles yours, so that must be your grandmother's. but I smell two other scents; I can smell some adrenaline in the scents and it's faint, but I can smell burnt skin and ozone, which means that there was fire and electricity, most likely magic."

Red grew more concerned when Wulf kept going.

"You two can't see it, but the furniture looks like it was rearranged. From what I can tell, the three scents then left through the door, your grandmother's scent became faint," Wulf turned to the other two with a grim expression, "Most likely, two people, most likely mages, came here and attacked your grandma, why, I don't know. They then cleaned up the house and left; from what I can tell, the scents are a few days old, so they're probably long gone."

Tears were flowing down Red's face as she figured out what Wulf was about to say. Jack could only look at Red with concern.

"I'm sorry to say, Red, but it would seem that your grandmother was abducted." Wulf concluded grimly.

That was it, Red fell to her knees and started to cry. Jack put his hand on her shoulder, knowing there wasn't anything he could say. Wulf looked devastated at the bawling Red; he didn't like to see her like this. His demeanor changed suddenly, stern determination appearing on his face.

"Whoever those guys were, their actions have made Red cry; I'll find them and pound them into dust!" fire suddenly appeared in his eyes and behind him as he raised his fist and yelled out.

"I don't care if the trail has gone cold, I'll follow these scents, find these guys, teach them a lesson, and rescue your grandma. By the time I come back, those will be tears of happiness coming from your eyes. Ready or not you villains, because Daz Wulf is hunting you down!"

Wulf yelled a warcry before speeding out the door and in the direction he smelled the scents went, a trail of dust clouds left in his wake. Jack and Red just stared at where the wolfman departed. Jack just laughed sheepishly at the older man's actions.

"Well, you can't say that he doesn't get motivated easily."

Receiving no response, Jack looked towards Red; the sad look on her face told him that she still reeling from learning that her grandmother is missing. Jack laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that whatever happened, it'll all work out in the end."

Seeing the hopeful smile on the lumberjack's face, Red couldn't help but smile in return. No sooner did the gloomy atmosphere fade away, did a thought come to Jack's mind.

"I guess this means that you're going back home, right?" he said, a bit of disappointment in his voice. But the subtle disappointment changed to confusion when he saw Red get flustered all of a sudden and start scratching her head with a sheepish smile.

"Haha, actually, the real reason I came here was to move in with my grandma; you see, in an unfortunate series of events, my village ended up burning to the ground. So I came here hoping to stay with granny for a while." Explained the sheepish redhead, as though as what she just said was a common and embarrassing event.

"Whoa! What happened, were you and the villagers alright?!" asked a concerned Jack.

"Oh, we were all alright; suffice to say, Wulf is no longer allowed to be near ale, dictionaries, or a gopher anymore." Red laughed, as though she was remembering a funny joke. Jack's eye just twitched at that.

_'Ale, dictionaries, and a… gopher? How the hell do those three things cause an entire village to burn down?'_ Jack couldn't help but think what he just heard was absolutely ridiculous. Shaking his head, Jack then asked the first thing that popped in his head.

"If that's the case, why don't you come and stay in my village?"

"What?! Really?! Is that okay?" a suddenly hopeful Red asked.

"Sure, the village is a very quiet place and I have enough room at my house for two, so why not?" Jack couldn't help but get happy at the prospect of Red living with him for a while. A prospect that was about to become real if the smile on Red's face was any indication.

"Alright, I accept your invitation. When do we leave?"

"Right now."

"Really? Don't you have work to do out here?" asked Red. The lumberjack merely gestured of to the side. Following his gaze, Red now beheld all of the toppled trees from Jack and Wulf's fight, "Those happen to be Greenwood trees, and now I have enough to fulfill my assignment; just need to gather them and get them ready for transport and then we'll be on our way." explained Jack. And without further words, Jack got to work.

Red was impressed with Jack, as he was able to load the Greenwood logs onto the specially designed cart attached to his carriage. After a quick stop at his campsite to pack everything up, the two were now on their way. Despite having made a new friend and a new place to stay, Red couldn't help but wonder…

_'Grandma, what happened to you?'_

* * *

Moonlight barely filled the damp, dark dungeon. Rats crawled through every crevice in that place and water dripped from the cracks in the ceiling. Despite the dungeon's size, it only had one prisoner.

On her knees and her hands chained to the wall, a woman held her head down in defeat; one look at her would have people honestly doubting that this women was already at the age of being a grandmother; besides from very few wrinkles on her face, she looked to be in her mid-thirties. The air around her spoke of wisdom and battle experience, but from her appearance, it looked as if she just fought a way by herself and lost. On the door to her cell, the prisoner's name was inscribed.

_Marigold Turner_

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**And thus, Grimore of Fables is born. I hope you like the first chapter and I hope you enjoy the second chapter when it comes out; though I half to admit that it's going to be short and a bit of a filler. Chapter 3 is when the story starts to move along. I hope you look forward to this story. Mastergamer, out.**


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